The advent of small powerful computers such as notebook computers and/or laptop computers and similar devices has provided an effective tool for use in connection with activities such as police service, fire fighting, and ambulance or emergency medical type vehicles. As the use of such small portable computers has continued, the prospect looms for provision of such computers within the interior of conventional vehicles and commercial/industrial vehicles. In the environment of police vehicles in particular the access via the radio transmission system of the vehicle facilitates rapid access to information required by police officers. Critical information needs such as tracing license numbers, obtaining an indication of persons wanted for arrest warrants and so on as well as other forms of information is available via data links. Notsurprisingly, police and other emergency vehicle users have for the most part acceded to ever increasing use of and dependence upon vehicle installed computers. In a typical computer installation the raised hump often referred to as the transmission hump within the vehicle receives a conforming bracket overlying the transmission hump and secured to several structural strong points such as seat bolts. A support base to which a riser is secured is attached to the bracket. The riser in turn supports a generally horizontal computer platform for receiving the computer and supporting it between the front seats of the vehicle.
Such computer supports are required to meet several environmental limitations within the vehicle. For example, in vehicles such as police cars which are converted standard vehicles, the interior is already substantially crowded due to the installation of a gun rack, a video camera, and an Emergency Equipment Console as well as other miscellaneous equipment. Further, the typical use to which such vehicles are subjected requires positional capability which accommodates persons in either of the vehicle front seats. Finally, some mechanism must be provided for securely locking the computer within the vehicle.
To meet the need for effective support of computers within such vehicles, practitioners in the art have provided a variety of devices for receiving and securing the computers. Thus, practitioners employ a metal base which is configured for attachment to the vehicle transmission hump together with a vertically oriented and often rearwardly angled riser which supports the computer platform. Most laptop, notebook or other portable computers provide cooperative portions which facilitate attachment of the computer to the platform. Also provided are numerous connection ports at the rear of the computer for communicating information and power between the computer and the remainder of the vehicle electrical system.
Such devices have, to some extent, met some of the above requirements. However, most either lack the full multi-access adjustment capabilities desired within the crowded vehicle environment or are fabricated utilizing a prohibited degree of complexity and costs.
As a result, there remains a need in the art for ever more efficient, cost effective, simple to use and reliable computer support apparatus for vehicular operation of computer devices.